Apple’s new “Visual Intelligence” feature was one of the most impressive things shown at Monday’s iPhone 16 event. The tool lets users scan the world around them through the iPhone’s camera to identify a dog breed, copy event details off a poster, or look up just about anything around them.

It’s a handy-looking feature that fits right in with the iPhone’s new camera button. But it may also be setting the stage for bigger products down the road: it’s the exact kind of thing Apple will need for future tech like AR glasses.

It’s not hard to imagine how Visual Intelligence could help you out on a device that sees everything you see. Take the idea of learning more about a restaurant, like Apple showed for Visual Intelligence on an iPhone: instead of fishing your phone out of your pocket to look up information about a new spot, with glasses, you could just look at the restaurant, ask a question, and have the glasses tell you more.  

Meta has already proven that computer glasses with an AI assistant can be a good and useful tool for identifying things. It’s not a great leap to imagine Apple doing something similar with a very high level of fit and finish for theoretical glasses. Apple would almost certainly make glasses connect back to all of your apps and personal context on your iPhone, too, which would make Visual Intelligence even more handy. 

Of course, Apple already does have a headset covered in cameras: the Vision Pro. But most people don’t walk around with their headset outside of their house, and they probably already know about the things they have at home. It’s long been reported that Apple wants to develop a pair of true AR glasses, and that feels like the ultimate destination for this kind of tech.

The thing is, Apple-made AR glasses might be very far away. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported in June that a 2027 launch date has been “bandied about” for its in-development glasses but noted that “no one I’ve spoken to within Apple believes the glasses will be ready in a few years.”

But whenever those glasses arrive, they’re going to need software — and you can see Apple building out the basics of it here. Visual Intelligence might be Apple’s first step toward the killer app for computer spectacles, and by starting now, Apple will potentially have years to refine the feature before it shows up in glasses. 

It wouldn’t be unprecedented for Apple to take that approach. The company iterated on AR technologies in the iPhone for years before launching the Vision Pro. Yes, the Vision Pro is arguably much more of a VR headset than an AR device, but it’s clearly a first step toward something that could turn into AR glasses. As Apple improves that hardware, it can work on software features like Visual Intelligence on the iPhone, too, and when the time is right, pack all of the best ideas into a glasses-like product. 

Anker’s next puck-shaped accessory is an SD and microSD card reader called the MagGo USB-C Adapter that can be used with laptops, tablets, and smartphones. When connected to an iPhone 15 or 16, it can also unlock ProRes 4K recording at 60fps if the memory card supports at least 220MB/s write speeds and 256GB capacity.

The MagGo USB-C Adapter — available in white, black, or teal finishes for $34.99 from Anker or Amazon — is MagSafe compatible, so it can be secured to the back of an iPhone and kept out of the way while recording video. Since it does end up blocking both of the ways an iPhone can be charged, Anker has included an additional USB-C port on the MagGo that will pass along up to 42.5W of power.

Anker promises transfer speeds of up to 312MB/s, which is the theoretical maximum of UHS-II-rated memory cards. The speeds you experience may be less than that, depending on the type of card you’re using or even how long it’s been in use. If you’ve got an SD or microSD card slower than 220MB/s, you can still record video externally from an iPhone 15 or 16 using the MagGo — it will just be limited to lower frame rates and potentially even lower resolutions.

23andMe disclosed the data breach last October, but it didn’t confirm the overall impact until December. Customers using the DNA Relatives feature may have had information like names, birth years, and ancestry information exposed through the breach. At the time, 23andMe attributed the hack to credential stuffing, a tactic that involves logging in to accounts using recycled logins exposed in previous security breaches.

The breach dealt a big blow to the already struggling company. As 23andMe’s stock price continued to crater, 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki attempted to take the company private earlier this year, but the special committee rejected the offer last month. The settlement mentions concerns surrounding the company’s finances, saying, “Any litigated judgment significantly more than the Settlement is likely to be uncollectable.” In a statement to The Verge, 23andMe spokesperson Katie Watson said the company expects cyber insurance to cover $25 million of the settlement:

We have executed a settlement agreement for an aggregate cash payment of $30 million to settle all U.S. claims regarding the 2023 credential stuffing security incident. Counsel for the plaintiffs have filed a motion for preliminary approval of this settlement agreement with the court. Roughly $25 million of the settlement and related legal expenses are expected to be covered by cyber insurance coverage. We continue to believe this settlement is in the best interest of 23andMe customers, and we look forward to finalizing the agreement.

The proposed settlement still needs approval from the judge.